A Case of Mistaken Identity

If you are really wondering what this teaching is all about, it can be put simply as a case of mistaken identity. What is at the crux of the quest for the Truth is not so much about the nature of Truth. It is all about your identity. Yes, your identity. This identity of yourself that you so much believe in and are convinced of its authenticity. This identity that you have a name and a form, the body. This identity that you so proudly proclaim as "me" and "mine".

You can never know the Truth as such. What you can know is the false as false. In doing so, the Truth becomes self evident. You may now ask as to what exactly is false. Everything you know is false since the basic premise that you are an entity, an entity with a name and a body is false. Only by inquiring into the nature of this entity called "me" can you really unravel this mystery.  All the reading and listening is not going to unravel the mystery.  It is only when one starts to ponder over his or her own identity does the answer come all by itself.

Your True Nature is the Absolute where there is no "I".  There should be no doubt about your True Nature as the Absolute (Parabrahman) and all else is false as you will Realize as you continue to investigate into your identity. Now, because you consider yourself to be this body and mind, it would be appropriate to start right here and slowly unravel the mystery of your identity by going backwards. The body is inanimate and it does not say "I". To make this clear, a dead body does not proclaim "I am dead". So, there must be some other factor that gives rise to the impression of "I" or the knowledge of being, or the knowledge of existence. Let us call this knowledge, consciousness. It is this consciousness, which is formless, that is responsible for the sense of being. When this consciousness mistakenly (for ease of understanding) identifies itself with the body, it gives rise to the concept of being an individual, the "I" or "me". Having now identified itself with the body and thinking that it is indeed the body, and having created this concept of being a person or individual, there is a feeling of separation and suffering or the feeling of something missing. The consciousness identified as an individual (Jeeva) feels incomplete and starts the search for the missing bit of information that will give it satisfaction or bliss (ananda).  When the individual with the help of the Guru, comes to the clear conviction that all there is, is consciousness, then there is peace or contentment. When the individual realizes that the basic premise or idea of being an individual ("I" or "me") is false, and that the Real Self is none other than the consciousness, it is called Self Realization.  In effect, the individual has disappeared in favor of the Real Self. It is only when the "I" disappears that the Real Self becomes evident.

Find out if you are individual and if so, what and where are you? Conviction comes with knowledge.  Know Thy Self.

Transcending Consciousness-Part 1

The consciousness is your friend, as well as paradoxically, your enemy if you do not transcend it. It is doorway to the Absolute (the Parabrahman- para meaning prior to or beyond). Right now the only connection you have to the Absolute is the consciousness. This consciousness is the source of all manifestation. As long as the physical body is nourished, the consciousness will continue to function through that body.  When the body "dies", the consciousness merges with the universal consciousness and the body which is made up of the elements merges with the elements (water, air, earth, etc.). This consciousness is the source of the thought "I am".  With this knowledge that you are (the knowingness- I am) you are able to say " I have knowledge".   Based on this basic or primary knowledge that you exist, you are able to build all other mental concepts. And on these concepts, you want to build yet another concept of the Absolute or Parabrahman or whatever else you want to label THAT.  However, you have ignored the primary concept of the knowledge that you are and instead have been chasing useless concepts.  This Knowledge (that I am) has no name (namam) or form (roopam).  Being formless and abstract, you have ignored this primary knowledge or knowingness or consciousness. This message 'I am' (consciousness) is the gateway or the door to the Absolute. The consciousness is your friend as hanging on to it will lead you to its source, which is the Absolute. The Absolute is beyond any words or mental concepts.  Therefore, all that you can know is only in the realm of consciousness. Realize that!

Everything that is consumed or exhausted is unreal- meaning, not permanent. While consciousness is a reflection of the Absolute, it is unreal in the sense that it can manifest only through a body. If the body is not maintained and nourished, then the consciousness can no longer function through it. Since this body will eventually be exhausted, the consciousness itself is not going to last forever.  But, it is all that is available to you. It is the source of all knowledge.

Therefore, after knowing the consciousness, one must not stop there and realize that the REAL YOU are PRIOR TO CONSCIOUSNESS.  Many a seeker will stop at the level of consciousness and assume that the manifestation is real.  Being grounded in consciousness, one is falsely led to believe that the world and the universe is real.  Therefore, the statement that "the consciousness can be your enemy". To be in one's True State, one must discard even this consciousness as unreal and transcend it.

Once one fully understands the nature of consciousness, it is imperative to realize that you are not just the consciousness.  The consciousness is the gateway or the doorway to the Absolute.  You are at the boundary between consciousness and no-consciousness.  Leaving consciousness behind, one is in the Natural State or the Absolute.  You are THAT which is prior to consciousness.  Having said that, consciousness is all that you have to express any kind of knowledge. Even this writing is because of consciousness and in consciousness. And because of consciousness, it is being read and comprehended by consciousness itself. In fact, all of this is happening in consciousness. There is no one (no entity) doing anything.   Therefore, everything is consciousness. The content of consciousness is consciousness. 

You are the KNOWER OF CONSCIOUSNESS. Since the Absolute is beyond any words, only pointers can be used to describe your True Nature, which is the Absolute.  The word THAT is only a pointer to your Natural or True State.